Thursday, April 01, 2010

Hush money

Zofia Cisowski has received an undisclosed settlement, and a sort-of apology from the RCMP for the death of her son, Robert Dziekanski, at the hands of four RCMP officers two and a half years ago. In return, she has dropped her lawsuit against the federal and provincial governments, the Vancouver Airport and the officers involved.

What is abundantly clear is that she wanted closure. The terms of the settlement itself, however, are under wraps. Her lawyer, Walter Kostecky, said that both sides had agreed that disclosing the settlement was "not in her best interests." And she herself, eager to close a terrible chapter in her life, said that she doesn't want criminal charges pursued against the four officers.

For the record, here is the apology she received from RCMP deputy commissioner for the Pacific region, Gary Bass:

I want to apologize for our role in this tragic death of your son, Robert Dziekanski. The RCMP has learned much from this tragic incident.

and then:

Generally speaking, the RCMP could have done things better.

and then:

The RCMP, along with many other people, had a part to play in the sequence of events that went on for many hours on that night.

I leave it to readers to judge the depth and sincerity of that apology. Not being Christian, I find the notion of forgiveness foreign to me, but out of respect for Zofia Cisowski I shall simply wish her well at this point as she tries to move on.